Bushland ISD considers new bond proposal

Nearly a month has passed since a $21.5 million bond proposal in Bushland Independent School District failed to receive voter approval.

The vote was 188 opposed to 183 in favor - a difference of five votes.

School board members could send another proposal to voters in November.

"The need for facilities has not changed at all," said John Todd Cornett, school board vice president. "I think we have a good plan. I think we need to do a better job getting the community to understand what it is we're trying to do."

The May 12 bond proposal included $6.5 million for a middle school cafeteria, paving to upgrade the elementary school playground area and improve traffic and athletic facilities, including a field house and tennis court near the high school.

The bulk of the proposal - $15 million - would have paid for a new middle school to accommodate about 600 students.

The projects would have provided more room for a growing student population, school district officials said.

The timing of the bond election could have affected the outcome, said Alanna Bremmer, a Bushland parent and resident.

Homeowners in Bushland ISD received notices just prior to the election on their home values and estimated property tax bills.

"Bushland is growing," Bremmer said. "I can see down the road. They're going to have to make sure they prove they need it."

Also, some voters might not have thought a field house was necessary, Bremmer said.

Bremmer said the school district should set another bond election in November, but school board members might consider re-evaluating the list of projects.

In the next five years, enrollment in Bushland ISD is expected to rise to more than 1,160 students, double the enrollment of five years ago, according to a study by Fort Worth consultant Bob Templeton. Enrollment is expected to climb to 1,230 in 2008-09.

A survey on the Bushland ISD Web site asks whether residents voted in the bond election May 12. The survey asks for residents' thoughts on growth in Bushland, on traffic, on student safety, on student transfers, on a future bond election and suggestions for improvements within the school district.

"We're going to continue listening to our parents," school board president Chris Simmons said. "We're always available for questions."

Superintendent John Lemons will talk to school board members at their June 19 meeting about taking another bond proposal to voters in November. School board members have until September to make a decision.

"We need to try again," he said.

Lemons said he received many phone calls from voters who did not vote in the May 12 election because they thought the proposal would pass.

Elementary and middle school students share the elementary school cafeteria. Middle school students, those in the fifth through eighth grades, have to cross a street to go to the elementary school.

Sports programs grew faster than the school district had anticipated. The field house would have provided space for coaches' offices, a training room, a mat area for the wrestling team and larger dressing rooms for visiting teams, Lemons said.

The field house is not intended to serve students in one sport, but to serve the growing number of students participating in athletics, from football to wrestling to baseball. A field house at the high school will provide more dressing room space for those students, as well as for visiting teams.

"We're blessed to have a ton of kids that want to participate in sports," Cornett said.

Paving projects would have helped traffic around all the schools. Projects included closing the street between the elementary and middle schools to expand the playground.

District officials also intended to convert the existing tennis courts into parking spaces. Tennis courts would have been built near the high school.

School district officials had hoped to finish the cafeteria, field house and tennis courts, and paving this summer, Lemons said.

But, for now, those project are on hold.

"We'll just keep going as we are," Lemons said. "It's rough."

District survey

School district officials have posted a survey for Bushland ISD residents online.